FARMINGTON – A plea deal for Aaron Wayne Hammond, 36, was struck last week that could result in him serving up to 45 years in prison.

Hammond, of North Salt Lake, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, second-degree felonies. In exchange for those guilty pleas, the stat Attorney General’s Office agreed to dismiss 12 other counts of exploitation of a minor.

He could be sentenced to serve one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison on each count he pleaded guilty to.

A probable cause statement said that in November 2012, the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force found that an IP address later discovered as Hammond’s was suspected of being used to download child porn through a peer-to-peer network called eDonkey, A search of his home in February 2013 found thousands of child porn pictures and more than 100 videos.

Hammond admitted to police to downloading child porn for 10 to 15 years, according to the affidavit. He denied ever sexually abusing children.